31.10.08

Reflections on the death of a Dokholer*

Tormentor of my family,Dementer of a vision,Devourer of institution,Repeller of religion.

Now that you've gone to meet your Lord,The problems are not solved,The twisted knots, the muddied name,Even standards have been floored.

You hired men to kill my bro,because he would not bend.To your bribery, skullduggery,and dumb Bengali men.

Even in your death you faked your grave,To advance deluded interest,What faulty, skewed, shrewd lovepump,Did you carry in your chest?

You were no holy man to me,You soiled a cute tariqa**,The ronin*** you hegemonised,Should really have fought better.

Beard, syedness**** and cool brothers,Are all you ever had,Living in their shadow,Like a corrupting bearded hag.

He has infinite mercy,I pray He'll give to you,I wish He'd shine some on the mess,You turned the dream into.

* Dokhol is a Bengali term denoting the unlawful/forced/violent occupation of a property or institution. Commonly perpetrated by individuals, families, political parties and governments. Dokhology, the science of illegal occupation is a craft that the society has nurtured very well. Even nuclear bombs have a thicker silver lining than the institutional occupation culture of Bangladesh.

** Tariqa is any sufi order.

*** Ronin is the term for Samurai who lost their leader and drifted around feudal Japan.

**** Syed-ness denotes an ancestry that connects to the Prophet of Islam in some way. It is a status symbol subject to a lot of exploitation and abuse.